Transport container having an identification carrier

ABSTRACT

A transport container having a receptacle for holding an electronic, wireless identification device in the form of a smart card. The transport container has a double-walled wall section formed by an inner wall and an outer all. The receptacle is defined by guides and ribs and an insertion slot is provided in the outer wall via which the card is inserted into the receptacle. The insertion slot is offset to the receptacle, so that the smart card or elements of the receptacle must be elastically deformable to insert the card into the receptacle. The ribs and guides ensure that the card is reliably held in the receptacle. The ribs also ensure that the card is held at least 1.5 mm away from the inner and outer walls, thereby preventing buildup of a moisture film on the smart card, to avoid impairment of the ability to read the card.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to the field of transport containers and particularly, to such container for food chilled with ice.

2. Discussion of the Prior Art

The electronic wireless identification carriers have advantages over adhesive labels, because they enable machine identification of the transport container. If the transport container serves as a fish crate, for example, to hold freshly caught fish and ice, the identification carrier serves to identify the specific fish crate, which has probably already been sold online while the fishing vessel is still at sea. The ability to readily and accurately read off the information on these identification carriers is therefore of significant importance in the subsequent handling and transport of the fish crate.

Particularly when used as a fish crate, attaching the identification carrier entails considerable requirements: On the one hand, a certain minimum distance to water has to be maintained, because otherwise, depending on the radio frequency band that is used with the identification carrier, the readability of the identification carrier may be significantly diminished. The proximity to fish, with its high water content, as well as to the ice that is used to keep the fish fresh, presents a problem with regard to the readability of the identification carrier.

Particularly in the food industry, such as, for example, with the aforementioned fish crates, it is important that the transport container be able to cleaned easily and to hygienic standards. Attaching the identification carrier has to allow for such cleaning.

Equipping the transport container with an identification carrier is not desired in all cases and for each customer. It is, therefore, advantageous to construct the transport container so that the identification carrier may or may not be incorporated at the factory. It is advantageous if the transport container can be retrofitted with an identification carrier at the customer's location, for example, for a customer who already has transport containers without the tags, but who desires to change over to some identification system, using the same containers.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to improve a conventional transport container such, that it allows in the most cost-effective manner a selective embodiment of the transport container with or without an identification carrier. It is a further object, that the electronic wireless identification carrier be easily readable, even if the transport container is filled with water or the goods in the container have a high water content. Further goals are that it be possible to exchange the identification carriers or retrofit the containers with identification carriers at a later date, and that the transport container be able to be cleaned without difficulty and to high hygiene standards.

The invention proposes in other words a bundle of measures: The first measure is that the identification carrier, which is normally referred to as an RFID tag or transponder, have an electronic circuit in the form of a chip and an antenna. According to the invention, the identification carrier is encapsulated in a casing that is molded around all sides. Such devices are typically referred to as Smart Cards or Hard Tags, regardless of their dimensions. Such cards or tags are known either in a credit-card size format or as an elongate stick. The identification carrier according to the invention is frequently referred to hereinafter as a “smart card.” This embodiment ensures excellent protection against moisture for the identification carrier, because the identification circuitry is enclosed on all sides and, thus, protected against water.

The second measure is a double-wall section. This double-wall section of the transport container does not serve to create a hermetically sealed hollow chamber, for the purpose of holding the identification carrier. Such hollow chambers have the disadvantage that, if the container wall becomes deformed, the hermetically sealed envelope of the hollow chamber may open up, for example, along welded seams. This allows water to seep into the hollow chamber, which can have a negative impact on the readability of the card. Furthermore, such undesirable and unforeseen cracks can have a negative effect hygienically on the transport container, because such hollow chambers, which are now accessible to bacteria and other contaminants, cannot be adequately cleaned. For this reason, the transport container according to the invention has ribs in the double-wall section, between the inner wall and the outer wall, such that these ribs serve as a kind of spacer, because they are arranged such, that they define the boundaries of a receptacle that serves to hold the smart card.

A third measure is to provide an insertion slot in the outer wall of the double-wall section through which the smart card is insertable into the aforementioned receptacle. The insertion slot is, however, offset to the receptacle. This is based on the consideration that the smart card be elastically deformable and be able to be brought into the receptacle from the insertion slot by elastically deforming, i.e., flexing, the card. Should the smart card not be sufficiently deformable, then it is suggested, that instead of the card, to make the outer wall which has the insertion slot appropriately deformable, so that in any case the smart card may be inserted into the receptacle, despite the offset between the insertion slot and the receptacle.

When the smart card has been inserted into the receptacle, the offset between the receptacle and the insertion slot ensures that the smart card is securely captured in the receptacle and cannot get to the insertion slot or pass through the slot without an external force being applied to it. In other words, the smart card cannot inadvertently escape the transport container.

The function of the mentioned ribs as spacers prevents a moisture film from building up between the identification carrier and the adjacent outer wall or the inner wall of the double-wall section, as this moisture film could have a negative effect on reading the identification carrier. It is also advantageous, as far as complete and hygienic cleaning is concerned, that the ribs according to the invention create a space of at least 1.5 mm between the smart card and the next adjacent section of the inner wall and the outer wall. This space allows water to be sprayed into the receptacle to clean the receptacle and the smart card. Furthermore, this space also ensures that the smart card, which held in the receptacle, is optimally protected against external impacts, such as can occur during transport.

A fourth measure is to hold the smart card in the receptacle, such that it is also removable. The flexibility or deformability of the smart card or the wall section that has the insertion slot also ensures that the smart card can be removed again from the transport container by overcoming the corresponding deformation forces of the smart card. Should the smart card become damaged and the identification carrier no longer be readable, the identification carrier can be easily replaced, so that the transport container remains just as usable as before. Also, it is possible that the transport container initially be delivered without an identification carrier, and be fitted with an identification carrier at a later date, without difficulty, simply by pushing the identification carrier through the insertion slot into the receptacle. This retrofit can be done at the production facility for the transport container, so that the manufacturer delivers transport containers that are already equipped with identification carriers. On the other hand, it is also possible to fit transport containers with the identification carriers later at the customer's place, even if the transport containers have been in use already for several months or years.

The-double-wall section is advantageously provided on a place on the transport container that is frequently reinforced anyway, namely, by providing an upper collar that encircles the transport container. The receptacle is thereby advantageously slightly raised, i.e., provided some distance from the lower edge of the double-wall section, so that the identification carrier is optimally mechanically protected. Thus, even then, when such a collar is mechanically grabbed from below with the help of a hook-like tool, in order to lift the transport container or pull it across a floor, the receptacle is protected from the grabbing or pulling forces. Due to the distance from the lower edge of the collar, the smart card is placed outside of the area where such tools would grab.

Advantageously, speedy optical inspection is possible, to ascertain whether an identification carrier, i.e., a smart card, is provided in the transport container or not. For this purpose, a cut-out is provided in the double-wall section, so that it is possible to see the smart card. This cut-out forms a viewing window that is provided in the double-wall section.

If the double-wall section, as mentioned above, is constructed in the form of the upper circumferential collar of the transport container, the viewing window just mentioned may be placed advantageously in a connector web of the wall geometry of this double-wall section, the web connecting the inner wall with the outer wall. This can be the upper closing surface of this essentially U-shaped wall section that is open toward the bottom, so that the presence of the smart card can be immediately ascertained by a look from above onto the transport container.

The recognition of the smart card within the transport container can be particularly simplified by giving the smart card a color that is distinguishable from the color of the material of the transport container. In this way, recognition of the presence of the smart card with optical means is possible, and not just by machine, but through a simple visual inspection by each person who uses or handles the transport container.

Advantageously, the smart card may be embodied as a flat body, whereby the width and length are each greater that its thickness, so that the card is defined as having a flat surface and an edge surface. The smart card is located in the receptacle such, that the flat surface is vertically oriented. This allows the embodiment and arrangement of an antenna of the identification inside of the smart card that is optimally readable in the reading direction, which is oriented normal to the surface. This orientation accommodates many of already existing electronic reading devices for RFIdentification carriers or transponders, so that the transport container according to the invention may be readily implemented in an already existing infrastructure.

Advantageously, stacking surfaces may be provided in a known manner in the transport container. Such stacking surfaces are typically located within the area that is enclosed by the outer wall of the transport container, so that the transport container may be placed from above into a second transport container of the same type and rest on the stacking surfaces of the lower transport container, which, for example, are provided approximately 3 cm below the upper edge of the transport container. In such an embodiment, the receptacle for the smart card is advantageously provided above the stacking surfaces, because a well-protected double-wall area has been created here on the transport container, so that the smart card is well protected against mechanical damage. Here, too, the distance is greatest to the contents of the transport container, so that the negative effects when reading off of the identification carrier are avoided for the most part.

Advantageously, the transport container is constructed as a stack nest container. This embodiment of containers, which is actually known in the field, means that in a first orientation, the mating geometries of the two containers stacked one on top of the other overlay or match each other to a great extent, whereby the upper container can sink far down into the lower container. This so-called nesting serves to reduce the volume required to transport the containers when a plurality of empty transport containers need to be handled. If one turns the upper container 180 degrees about its vertical axis, then the degree of overlay into the lower container is reduced, so that, for example, two filled containers may be stacked one on top of the other, without a cover being needed for the lower container, which would form a surface for the upper container and hold the upper container with very little or no nesting on top of the lower container. Rather, the upper container is placed on the stacking surfaces that were mentioned above and that are provided on the lower container, allowing the upper container to sink to a lesser degree down into the lower container, so that the lower container may contain the normal volume of the goods.

As previously mentioned, a particularly advantageous application for the transport container embodied according to the invention is to serve as a fish crate. Fish crates have several characteristics that are adapted specifically to their purpose, such as, for example, a floor that has raised sections on which the fish are placed and are kept as dry as possible, as well as several lower sections opposite the raised sections, which are, for example, constructed as channels, for receiving liquid, such as water from melted ice.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An embodiment of a transport container is described below in greater detail, with reference to the purely schematic drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view from diagonally above onto the transport container.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view relative to the view of FIG. 1, a perspective view onto the area holding the identification carrier.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view onto the area shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view onto the area of FIG. 2, from a different viewing angle.

FIG. 5 is a view showing the inside of the transport container.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view from below onto the transport container.

FIG. 7 illustrates two transport containers of the same type, stacked one into the other.

FIG. 8 illustrates two transport containers of the same type, nested together.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view from below onto the area shown in FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A transport container 1, which is embodied as a fish crate, is shown in the drawings. The transport container 1 has a double-wall section 2 that is constructed as an upper circumferential collar on the transport container 1. The wall section 2 is closed at the top by a horizontally oriented connector web 3, which connects an inner wall 4 and an outer wall 5 of the double-wall section 2 with each other. A plurality of drain holes 6 are provided in the connector web 3, through which rinse water can flow when the transport container 1, placed upside down, is rinsed with water. When being cleaned in this manner, the water also flows into the double-wall section 2. The inner wall 4 extends beyond the double-wall section 2 downward and forms the side walls of the transport container 1 and also forms as a single integral component the floor of the transport container 1.

The double-wall section 2 has an insertion slot 7, through which a smart card 8 is inserted into the double-wall section 2. As can be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the insertion slot 7 is arranged offset to the receptacle 9 that is created between the inner wall 4 and the outer wall 5 of the double-wall section 2. As can also be seen in FIG. 2, the smart card 8 is embodied as a flat stick, which is horizontally oriented over its entire length, but, due to its flat construction, is oriented with its flat surface on edge in the receptacle 9.

A stacking surface 10 is provided inside the transport container 1 and a drain channel 11 that leads to the outside is provided in the stacking surface 10. The outside opening of this drain channel 11 can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 3 shows that the drain holes 5 are not only provided in the connector web 3, but also in the stacking surface 10 and still lower down, namely, in the container floor. This container floor has raised support surfaces 12, as well as channels 14 adjacent to the support surfaces 12. Liquid, such as, for example, melted water from the refrigerating ice, is able to drain off via the drain holes 6 and is then carried out of the transport container 1, so that the fish that is in the transport container 1 is stored as dry as possible.

In a purely schematic manner, FIG. 3 shows very clearly that the receptacle 9 can be bounded by guides 15, so that the smart card, when initially inserted into the insertion slot 7, is automatically guided by the guides and deformed, until the smart card 8 has been completely inserted into the receptacle 9. There the smart card 8 is held without tension, i.e., loosely, so that it is not continuously up against any surface of the transport container 1 and under tension. Rather, these guides 15 ensure that the smart card 8 is held loosely in the receptacle 9, so that the smart card 8 may be rinsed on all sides with water when the transport container 1 is being cleaned.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show that a large-surface cut-out is provided in the connector web 3. This surface serves not only as a drain hole 6, but, more particularly, creates a viewing window 16 through which the smart card 8 remains visible for viewing from above in the direction of the transport container 1. In the same manner, a person can determine that an identification carrier is missing with just a quick look, for example, when, namely, no smart card 8 is visible in the viewing window 16.

FIG. 5 shows a view into the inside of the transport container 1, with the support surface 12, which rises up increasingly higher from the center of the container to the end face of the transport container 1 against the channel 14 that is provided around it.

FIG. 6 shows a view from below onto the transport container 1. One can see that the double-wall section 2 is open toward the bottom, so that a cleaning solution or rinse water may be sprayed into the double-wall section 2 from below, and then drain off through the drain holes 6. This open-bottom construction of the double-wall section 2 makes it possible to grab the smart card 8, either manually or by machine, and to deform the smart card 8 and push the card out through the insertion slot 7 and out of the double-wall section 2. In this way, a defective identification carrier may be replaced, for example, when writable identification carriers are to be used, which are then, for example, written with information that is intended for a specific customer.

FIG. 6 further shows that so-called columns 17 are provided on the two opposite end faces of the transport container 1. These columns 17 are arranged offset to each other, such, that the two columns on the one end face are spaced a different distance apart than the two columns 17 on the opposite end face of the transport container 1. In this way, the transport container 1 is constructed as a so-called stack nest container, as is illustrated with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8: By placing two transport container 1 of the same type on top of each other, whereby the two transport containers 1 are oriented in opposite directions, the two transport container 1 are stacked together as shown in FIG. 7. The offset in orientation means that the columns 17 of the lower transport container 1 have a different spacing from each other than the columns 17 at the end face of the upper transport container 1, which are provided above the end face of the lower transport container 1. The columns 17 of the upper transport container 1 rest therefore on the stacking surfaces 10 of the lower transport container 1.

If the upper transport container 1, in contrast to the stacking arrangement shown in FIG. 7, is rotated 180 degrees about its vertical axis, then the columns 17 at the same end face in this container arrangement are above columns that have the same spacing. In this way, the transport containers 1 and their columns 17 fit against each other, such, that a particularly high degree of congruity in the geometry of the mating surfaces of the two transport containers 1 is achieved, such that the double-wall section 2 of the upper transport container 1 sets against the double-wall section 2 of the lower transport container 1. This nested arrangement of the two transport containers 1 enable the most space-saving transportation of the largest possible number of empty transport containers 1.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view from below of the double-wall section 2: The receptacle 9 is bounded by several guides 15 on three sides, namely, on both the long sides and on the end face that faces away from the insertion slot 7, and is open at the end toward the insertion slot 7. The open end is offset to the insertion slot 7, creating a short offset path behind the insertion slot 7. This offset path prevents the smart card 8 from inadvertently moving out of the receptacle 9 and through the insertion slot 7. In other words, in order to be removed from the transport container 1, the smart card 8 has to be flexed, i.e., deformed. The guides 15 extend only over a small portion of the height of the smart card 8.

The guide 15 shown in the upper right corner in FIG. 9 curves away from the smart card 8 toward the outer wall 5 and thereby creates a space that initially allows the smart card 8 to be inserted from the insertion slot 7 into the receptacle 9. Later, too, if it is necessary to remove the smart card 8 from the transport container 1, the curved end of this guide 15 provides the space to bend the smart card 8 and move it toward the insertion slot 7.

Several of a plurality of ribs 18 that extend across the space between the inner wall 4 and the outer wall 5 are also provided in the double-wall section 2. The guides 15 also have ribs, which, however, extend only over a small portion of the height of the smart card 8. For that reason, the larger ribs 18 have slots, which also form boundaries on the receptacle 9 and through which the smart card 8 extends. The ribs 18 serve a dual function: they provide a lower boundary of the receptacle 9 and ensure that the smart card 8 cannot fall out of the receptacle 9 toward the bottom, and they ensure that the card maintains a sufficient distance to the inner wall 4 and the outer wall 5. This distance of at least 1.5 mm prevents the build-up of a moisture film between the smart card 8 and the adjacent inner wall 4 or the outer wall 5, as such a moisture film would negatively influence a radio transmission to the smart card 8.

Deviating from the embodiment shown, a fewer number of the guides 15 shown in FIG. 9 may be provided. The number and the length of the shown guides 15 does, however, advantageously ensure that the smart card 8 is reliably guided through the slots in the ribs 18 and does not hit with its end face against the ribs 18, when the card is inserted into or removed from the transport container 1. 

1-9. (canceled)
 10. A transport container for use with an identification carrier that is constructed as a smart card, the transport container comprising: a container body having a sidewall that includes a double-walled section formed by an inner wall and an outer wall; a receptacle formed by guides and one or more ribs within the double-walled section for receiving the smart card; an insertion slot formed in the outer wall and offset in alignment to the receptacle to create an offset path into the receptacle; and wherein the the smart card is insertable through the insertion slot and the offset path into the receptacle; wherein the ribs and guides hold the smart card loosely captured within the receptacle and maintain a minimum distance between the smart card and the inner and outer walls; and wherein the offset path prevents the smart card from inadvertently slipping out of the receptacle.
 11. The transport container of claim 10, wherein the outer wall in an area near the insertion slot is elastically deformable, so as to allow the smart card to be insertable through the insertion slot and the offset path.
 12. The transport container of claim 10, wherein the smart card is elastically deformable, such that the smart card capable of traveling the offset path into the receptacle.
 13. The transport container of claim 10, wherein the double-wall section forms an upper circumferential collar of the transport container and wherein the receptacle is provided a distance from the lower edge of the double-wall section.
 14. The transport container of claim 10, wherein the double-walled section includes a cut-out that provides a means of visually determining the presence of the smart card in the receptacle.
 15. The transport container of claim 14, wherein the double-walled section has a U-shape cross-section that is open toward the bottom, with a connector web connecting upper ends of the inner wall and the outer wall, and wherein the cut-out is provided in the connector web.
 16. The transport container of claim 10, wherein the minimum distance from the inner and outer walls is 1.5 mm.
 17. The transport container of claim 10, wherein the container body has one color and the smart card has a color that is different from the one color.
 18. The transport container of claim 10, wherein the smart card is constructed as a flat body having flat surfaces with a length and a width greater than edge surfaces and is held in the receptacle in a vertical orientation on one of the edge surfaces.
 19. The transport container of claim 10 further including horizontally oriented stacking surfaces to allow multiple transport containers to be stacked on top of one another and wherein the receptacle is provided above the stacking surfaces.
 20. The transport container of claim 19, wherein the container is constructed as a stack nest container.
 21. The transport container of claim 19, wherein the container is constructed as a crate for holding food kept chilled with ice, the container body having bores in the stacking surfaces and in the double-wall section for draining water from melting ice.
 22. The transport container of claim 10, wherein the container is a fish crate. 